Former leading New Zealand publisher and bookseller, and widely experienced judge of both the Commonwealth Writers Prize and the Montana New Zealand Book Awards, talks about what he is currently reading, what impresses him and what doesn't, along with chat about the international English language book scene, and links to sites of interest to booklovers.

Saturday, September 17, 2016

New book asks New Zealanders how much power the government should have

The authors
of a new book are seeking New Zealanders’ views about whether this country
should have a written constitution and, if so, what should be in it.

Former Prime
Minister Sir Geoffrey Palmer QC and constitutional expert Dr Andrew Butler have
been working on a proposed new constitution and their book,A Constitution
for Aotearoa New Zealand, will be launched at Parliament on Wednesday 21
September.

The book,
published by Victoria University Press, seeks public comment about issues such
as whether New Zealand should replace the monarchy with a New Zealander as Head
of State, whether the Bill of Rights or the Treaty of Waitangi should be
included in a written constitution, and what limits there should be on
government powers, among other topics.

Dr Butler
says the pair wants to start a nationwide conversation about what sort of
nation New Zealand should be and how New Zealanders want their government to
work.

“We are
asking all New Zealanders, from young to old, in towns and cities across the
country to think about these issues, because they make a real difference to how
our society works,” says Dr Butler.

Sir Geoffrey
says it is time New Zealand’s Constitution was modernised so it is more easily
accessible, as it is currently located in many different laws and is hard to
understand.

“We are
proposing a new codified constitution that will bring the rules under which the
country is governed into a single document. The law needs to be brought into
step with modern New Zealand,” says Sir Geoffrey.

The proposed
Constitution preserves the core branches of government and affirms the central
importance of free, fair and democratic elections. It guarantees fundamental
civil and political rights long recognised in our constitutional tradition.

It also
proposes overhauling some aspects of the system the authors believe need
changing. For example, the book proposes the creation of a new Head of State,
elected in a free vote of the House of Representatives, with duties similar to
those of the current Governor-General, and replacing the concept of “the Crown”
with the legal establishment of the State.

“We already
live in a disguised republic,” says Dr Butler. “We propose replacing the
British monarchy with a domestic Head of State, while emphatically stating New
Zealanders’ desire to remain within the Commonwealth.”

Under the
proposed constitution, Parliament would have a fixed four-year term. The
functions of the House of Representatives are set out, along with a new,
politically neutral method for electing the Speaker.

Parliament’s
law-making powers are set out and the powers of the Government are defined. The
constitutional jurisdiction of the courts is also set out and a new Judicial
Appointments Commission is provided to bolster the independence of the
Judiciary.

To promote
transparency, the availability of official information is constitutionally enhanced
and the principles governing the public service and local government are set
down. The authors also propose protecting human rights by including the Bill of
Rights in the Constitution, as well as the Treaty of Waitangi.

Members of
the public are invited to give their views to the authors through www.constitutionaotearoa.org.nz.
All comments will be considered before the proposals are finalised at the end
of 2017.

“Public
participation is important,” says Sir Geoffrey. “A Constitution is for the
people and the people should have a say about what they want to see protected
in the law.”